SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN # 14 Review

"The further of Otto Octavius in Peter Parker's body" # 14 goes BIG as the SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN debuts his new costume plus other neat tricks to root out The Kingpin and the Hobgoblin in Shadowland.

Honestly I picked out the issue for this week's review mainly because I was curious on the origin of the new costume. Usually when Peter was still doing the driving, there was a sense of drama behind the change in costume. Slott recognizes that which was why we got 'nice' new costumes which made sense (i.e. the new Spider Armor for Menace, the Stealth/ Tron costume to fight Hobgoblin and so on and so forth). 

The issue did not deliver on that account. There. I might have saved you some dough. 

However, it did bring about a long forgotten plot point (if you can call it as such) in Octavius' return to Shadowland. Once the home of a demon-possessed Daredevil and current residence of Wilson Fisk and his artificial ninjas. Left ever since Andy Diggle's departure from Daredevil, this has been overlooked. 

Now Spider-Man brings change to that status quo with the debut of the new Spider jaegers bots as well as Ock's Spider-men/ army/troops with the sole purpose of toppling down Shadowland for good and making himself and J. Jonah Jameson look good to the public. 

The script isn't weak but I don't find it strong enough either. Overkill is a word I would describe in this issue. He already had mechs, why bring along an army? Was he out to prove that he was the stronger man? Was he out to show that he had bigger balls? We honestly don't know because it was never tackled. Could be an oversight on the writer's part or it could be a mistake we'll just have to find out in the next few issues. 

I do like what is slowly happening here. Doc Ock is slowly spreading himself thin, he's doing a lot of things in Peter's body and that might come back as a problem or as a plotpoint. The whole thing about the costume change for a more nefarious hero is slowly shaping up to become the Marvel version of the Batman story arc "Knighquest: The Crusade". Though he might be able to cover his tracks neatly, he's going to eventually show his true colors and setup the return for Peter Parker. 

Going back, SS # 14 sets up some pretty interesting things for the next few issues or so. The ending although not of the cliffhanging kind teases a rematch that's been brewing for some time now (ever since the end of Amazing Spider-Man's comic run to be exact). Whether we get a better issue from the arc we just have to sit tight and wait.

Verdict: 8/10

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN # 14 is available now at Castle Geek branches and Comicx Hub (order it HERE).